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John – Welcome back to another edition of BNC Insider, your weekly recap of everything that’s happening in the world of Brand New Congress.
In this issue:
This week’s voting deadlines
Legal weed? Not yet.
DCCC Drops Michelle, but we’ve still got her back
Cori’s Reproductive Freedom Tour
Maxwell on MSNBC + supporting storm recovery in Florida
Ways to take action
Get ready to dive in.
A graphic depicting buttons that say “Vote” with the caption “Upcoming Elections” [[link removed]]
We are officially less than 30 days away from election day, but there are many important voting deadlines you need to know right now – including several for BNC candidates THIS week and next.
Voter Registration Deadlines:
TOMORROW - Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas
October 12th - Missouri
October 14th - New York
Early Voting Start Date:
Voting Underway - Pennsylvania, Vermont, Michigan, California
October 19th - Tennessee
October 24th - Texas
October 25th - Missouri
We encourage everyone to visit Vote.org [[link removed]] to check their voter registration status, look up deadlines for requesting a ballot, find your polling place, and much more.
Don’t wait until November. Make a plan to vote today!
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Legal weed? Not yet.
Last week President Biden issued a blanket pardon for everyone currently in federal custody for simple possession of cannabis.
He also called on governors to follow his lead and do the same for people convicted of possession at the state level, and issued a directive to his cabinet to explore the possibility of removing cannabis from the list of Schedule 1 drugs.
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On the surface, this is a good move. But the devil (unfortunately) is in the details. The president’s proclamation made it clear that there is NO ONE in federal custody on charges of simple possession.
What does this order mean?
The number of individuals who will benefit from this pardon is around 6,500. For those people, it makes a difference – and that deserves note. Formerly incarcerated people face tremendous barriers when trying to reintegrate. This pardon will ease that.
Apart from the impact on those 6,500 individuals, very little changes immediately with this order. Cannabis is still a Schedule 1 prohibited substance. Over 40K people are incarcerated at any given time on marijuana-related offenses, and hundreds of thousands (if not millions) more are living with post-conviction, post-incarceration constraints.
This decision by the Biden administration, more than anything else, signals a sea change in federal policy towards the War on Drugs.
As BNC said in our statement, it’s an important first step – but it is only the first step.
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Brand New Congress has always supported FULL decriminalization of cannabis, expungement of past convictions, and direct investment in the communities most impacted by the War on Drugs. Will you pitch in $25 today to help elect pro-cannabis candidates? [[link removed]]
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DCCC abandons Michelle, but we’ve still got her back
Late yesterday news broke that the DCCC and the House Majority PAC have quietly withdrawn their support from Michelle Vallejo’s race to represent TX-15.
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The DCCC may abandon Michelle, but we’ve still got her back. Check the bottom of this email for volunteer opportunities to help us get out the vote in TX-15.
In the meantime, will you show your solidarity with Michelle by splitting a contribution between her campaign and Brand New Congress now? [[link removed]]
Defend Michelle >> [[link removed]]
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Cori’s Reproductive Freedom Tour
An the hours after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Missouri became the first state to ban abortion. So, this weekend, BNC’s Cori Bush launched a statewide tour to rally and spread the message that our reproductive rights are not up for debate.
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The tour continues through today as Cori works to rally voters all across the state to turn out in November in defense of reproductive freedom.
If you’d like to support this tour, you can split a contribution between Brand New Congress and Cori here:
Support Cori's tour >> [[link removed]]
Maxwell on MSNBC and supporting recovery efforts in Florida
In the wake of Hurricane Ian, where the death toll in Florida has now topped 100, BNC’s Maxwell Alejandro Frost (FL-10) recently appeared on MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell to talk about the link between increasingly severe weather and the climate crisis, and what he plans to do about that in Congress.
You can watch the whole clip here and then split a contribution between BNC and Maxwell to help him win.
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Watch + Contribute >> [[link removed]]
Maxwell has understandably taken some time away from campaigning as he works to help his state recover from the storm. Recently he joined with several local groups, including the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, the Central Florida Diaper Bank, and Equal Ground Florida as they coordinated relief efforts for impacted communities.
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A graphic featuring a faded photo of Cori Bush wearing a “Bans Off Our Bodies” t-shirt at a protest with the caption “TAKE ACTION” [[link removed]]
Each week we highlight volunteer opportunities for different BNC candidates. This week we are featuring our Texas slate – Michelle Vallejo and Greg Casar!
Team Vallejo is hosting a phonebank TOMORROW at 6pm CT. This is a hybrid event where you can join in person or virtually via Zoom. Sign up below to phonebank and GOTV for Michelle!
Phonebank for Michelle >> [[link removed]]
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Team Casar is hosting a BBQ and Blockwalk with AFL-CIO in San Antonio this Saturday. If you’re in the San Antonio area, sign up below to join in!
Blockwalk with Greg >> [[link removed]]
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Thanks for reading our BNC Insider! 💜 Watch for this update every Monday to stay on top of what’s happening in the world of BNC.
Until next week,
The entire team at Brand New Congress
P.S. If you appreciate this content, please consider signing up for a monthly recurring contribution [[link removed]] to sustain our work.
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Since 2016 BNC has led the way in advancing popular policies like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal and electing bold progressive fighters. We recruited and elected AOC in 2018 and Cori Bush in 2020. With seven BNC Reps currently in office [[link removed]] , we are growing progressive power in Congress.
This November we’re working to flip multiple red seats, fill open seats with bold progressives, and elect our first BNC Senator by defeating Rand Paul.
Pitch in today and join us as we take over Congress and return power to the people.
DONATE >> [[link removed]]
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